Furballs

Whew! Made the deadline!

Made it in just under the 90 day mark!!

Well how the heck are ya?  It's been a while!  I have been neglectful and I apologize.  Other stuff going on, we all need to take breaks now and then, right?

The good news is that I filled up the gas tank this morning for under $35!  Yes, gas in Minneapolis is down to $2.29/gallon and even though it's still ridiculous, I'm glad all the oil barons have paid for all of their new toys so they could give us poor schlubs a price break.  

The bad news is that it is snowing here.  It's 33' and snowing.  Snowing.  October 26.  

OK, shake it off.

I have been busy, apparently making socks, socks, and more socks.  

Just finished these:

These are knit with Lisa's Hardtwist Merino Petite in the Mahogany colorway.  You have got to get some of this yarn!  I love it like crazy!  The pattern is Charade.  The rich brown was sapped out of the pictures - you can see the background in the other pics is beige and in this one it's white.  Go figure.  The pictures were taken maybe a minute apart and I stood in the same place.  I don't understand it.  

A blurry close up with cat hair:

And here are some more socks - stripy ones are Opal cotton and the navy ones are one of the Blue Moon Raven STR colors (lost the label, sorry):

Enough socks?  Good, because I can't show you the last pair.  I split a Blue Moon Sheep 2 Shoe kit with my friend Mel and we're maybe going to do a team post about our exciting experience of our SKAL (Spin & Knit ALong).  It really was fun to be working on the exact same project with someone with no idea how the other person's project was turning out.

And here's my big fall project, coming along nicely...

This is Flyingdales/Fylingdales from A Fine Fleece by Lisa Lloyd.  I'm using Blackwater Abbey yarn in Rust, even though the picture doesn't look very rusty.  The body is knit in one piece to the armholes, and I'm done with the back (shown) and almost done with the first front.  It makes the snow a little easier to take. 

It's been a while.  Be sure to say "hey".  

Almost like knitting in Italy

OK, that's maybe overstating it JUST A BIT, but this shawl is called Tuscany and it was one of my favorite projects ever. 
I actually finished it a couple months ago but it was given as a birthday gift moments after it was done and I didn't get a chance to get a picture.  I was at my friend's house today and managed to get this taken. 

The pattern is from Amy Singer's book "No Sheep For You".  It was a tough decision what yarn to use - I've got about a dozen that would work well.  My original intent was the sea silk I ended up using for the Angel Lace shawl in the last post, but thought it might get stripy.  In the end I decided on Elsabeth Lavold's Silky Wool.  The whole time I was knitting it I thought I was making a big mistake, it was going to be too clunky, no drape, the color's wrong, yadda yadda.  Even when it was done, I was very 'meh.' about it.  Then I blocked it and absolutely loved it!  The design appeared, it drapes beautifully, and I may end up making another one just like it for me!  I will probably go with another color, though I kind of like this green and I have lots more. 

Lesson learned:  Silky Wool blocks very well with a steam iron, however, I ended up with melted silk goo on my iron.  Once everything cooled off it peeled right off, but I'm sure that depends on the surface on your iron.  I think mine's stainless, I wouldn't try it with teflon.

Today I'm finishing up a baby sweater, just need to do the math for the other sizes for the test knitters.  I have a couple ideas for more, but really want to cast on a sweater for ME.   And a shawl.  And some socks.

Look at me! I'm posting! About knitting!!

Because of the lack of knitting and spinning adventures on this blog lately, you may be about ready to give up on me.   I have, however, been busily working away in the background and now I'm ready to give you an Ultra Post, LOADED with fiber content!! 

First up, a project I have been working on (and off and on) for about a year.  I used the Ann Budd pattern in her sweater book and knit millions and millions of stitches on a size 3 needle.  It's Koigu, which makes a perfect light weight sweater.

It's a little big.  It used to be very big and I threw it in the washer on hot and then in the dryer along with some prayers and it shrunk down a couple inches.  It could stand another inch or two, so I might risk it one more time.

Some friends in my yahoo group have been bribing me with gifts to get it done!  I have some substantial rewards coming!

My head has been cut off in these pictures because the "feels like" temp today is 104' with hellish humidity and I just wasn't looking all that fresh. 

Next up is the Angel Lace shawl made out of sea silk. 

This was a fun and quick knit - the pattern called for more repeats but I wanted a smaller shawl for summer. 

And let me just say, sea silk is dreamy. 

And some socks...

On the left are some Opal Cotton
and on the right are some STR, sort of the Twisted Cables pattern with modifications. 

And then there's the handspun.  I know there's not much less interesting than looking at a bunch of gray yarn, but these have been really fun fibers to work with and they represent LOTS of time! 

On the left is from a Gulf Coast fleece from Running Moon Farm.  It's one that has a bit of Romney in its lineage, and it's wonderful to spin.  I plan to spin enough for a cabled sweater.  Next is some merino/bamboo from Blue Moon in the colorway Lunasea, I believe it will become a Flower Basket shawl. Next is a skein of a romney/merino/silk blend in a fingering weight that is slated for some cabled mittens.  And the last two are some shetland x lincoln that is puffing up nicely into a soft and lofty yarn for... who knows. 

There was another shawl, Tuscany from No Sheep for You out of Silky Wool, but that became a birthday present.  I'm working on getting a picture, though. 

So now it's time to start a new project and I have no idea what it will be.  I've got about half a dozen things on the short list, but I think it depends on what yarn I pass on the way to my knitting chair! 

   

The Winner is...

OK, don't feel bad that I didn't pick your names. I really did like them all. But because it was a contest, there has to be a winner who isn't me (I give myself prizes on a fairly regular basis). I do apologize for being so slow to the finish line but if you look at the frequency I've been posing lately, in my reality it's right snappy.

So I had an unbiased party pick the winner and the lucky contender is....

Chris!

Strange that a bird would pick a cat owner...

So what does she win? Well, since the prize was to be determined based on the winner's interests, I believe Chris will be receiving some lovely sock yarn! Don't know which one yet, as I'll give her a choice to pick from.

Congratulations Chris and thank you all for your suggestions!

And no, no eggs yet...

With Arms Wide Open

They have names!! They have names!! They sort of appeared out of nowhere.

Scooter and Faye.

Scooter because when he gets excited he scurries really fast back and forth across his perch.

Faye happened while I was filling out the new patient forms at the vet. She had been looking sort of ill so brought her in to get checked out. They asked what her name was and I said, "um, FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFaye." And I have no idea where it came from.

So poor little thing has an eye infection and needs drops twice a day. This is not a hand-tamed bird, so this is a huge deal.

And.

She's pregnant.

Contest Update

No winners yet. There are some who are very close. There are some who gave me one name I like a lot but not so much the other one, and mixing two up from different groups doesn't always make sense.

Susan, I like Bette, who doesn't like Bette? But Barry??? Even though he really does look like a bird (yes, I watched the video).

The movie and book references were all good, though I can't believe I didn't get a single Chris and Julie

Hmmmm..... Chris and Julie. maybe....

I really like the name Scarlett, but not Rhett. *sigh*

I think Scully and Mulder would make excellent names for Bassett Hounds.

Caroline, nobody in Minnesota knows who Betsy and Jerome are. Including me.

Other suggestions that were called in...

Cotswold and Merino
Feather & Fan
Axel and Floyd (Rose and Pink)
Thunder and Lady (both Birds)
Spinner and Knitter (since the other bird is Weaver)
Gus and Hulda (relatives from when the family tree was a seedling) (so Maureen, that's a big nod in your direction for the idea)

Really like Desmond and Molly, had to go look up the words to Ob-la-dee Ob-la-da. This is a contender.

Dawn and Dusk is a great concept. It's been marinating. What do you think of Sol and Dusky?

Love Seymour and Audrey but I already had a cat named Audrey. Audrey is a perfect name for a feminine little pet. Real people, too.

Carrie and Big? Jen? OK, like, Kerry's taken???

Joanne, nothing in this household will ever be named George. I don't even like to type it out.

Nigel is a great name. Maybe paired with Scarlett or Bette?

And of course, John and Fanny are still contenders.

This is so much harder than I'd ever expected.

Vanessa, Lisa will have to answer the dyeing question. I think pink, white, black with touches of navy would make an excellent colorway, myself.

There will be knitting content one of these days. I need to block something and put a button band on something else, then I'll have pictures.

Bird Talk... and a contest!

Last week my parakeet Lairy died after being in the family for 7 years. She was a sweet little bird who was content to watch the rest of us do what we do. She would make kissy sounds when I fed her at night and she loved Rudy the orange tabby (there's a picture of them together in the critters photo album). He would put his paw on the cage and she would rub her beak on it, sort of odd but fun to watch.

Feeling a parakeet sized hole in the universe, I spent a couple of late nights on the internet reading up on all of the birds I'd come across over the years that I wanted, and finally decided on a Rose Bourke Parakeet, I found one place in hundreds of miles that had them. Actually, she had two and wouldn't split them up. So now I have two new family members!

They don't do a lot - which is more than fine with me - but they have a really beautiful song, which they sing in the morning and at sundown.

The other animals are adjusting like it's no big deal, though Oakley is enchanted and tries to get a little too close. Rudy is sad because they freaked out when he put his paw on the cage, but we're only a couple days into this.

So now for the contest. These little birdies need some names. If you provide me with new names that I pick, you will win a prize. I don't know what the prize is, but it will be a good one, I promise. If you can't think of anything, tell me which of the following names you like best:

Sheila and Cobber (Australian slang for woman and buddy)
John and Fanny (after the poet John Keats and his love, Fanny. You know, a "pair o' Keats")

Rules: You may enter as many names as you think of. Sorry, I know 99% of people with Rose Bourkes name their birds Rosie, but I refuse. Barbie and Ken are out, as are Brad and Angelina.

The contest ends when the parakeets have names. You may begin.

Kerry, is that you???

Yes, it's a blog post!

Sometimes life gets going and before you know it, you have to struggle to remember what your login is for getting to your blog. I have lots of pictures to make up for it, though! And I almost have a couple of FO's, so there will be another post before too long to show you what I've been working on in my absence.

Before the wooly stuff, I want to show you a couple of dog photos.
My two adorables:

Look at these:


Same doggy? Nope. This week I'm babysitting my sister's dog and parrot, so it's quite a houseful! Huck is a mini-Oakley in many ways. They have similar personalities and they're very funny to watch.

This is the weekend for Shepherds Harvest, the sheep and wool extravaganza for these parts. My friend Vicki came up for the event again this year and we had a great time! Despite the rain and cold. Today, of course, is gorgeous, and would have been a perfect day out there.

So this is me, having just picked up my roving from last year's fleeces. Happy, happy happy!

And here are the bags o'dreaminess...
First up is a shetland x lincoln. I bought this same fleece three years in a row now, though I "misplaced" one of them. Still baffles me how I managed to lose an entire fleece. Anyway, here's the photo of the new fleece this year, then the roving from last year's. The fleece is predominantly white but has a bit of taupe in it, making it a lovely soft oatmeal color. A very soft combination, which surprises me because I don't usually think of either one of those breeds as being super soft.

Then a BFL cross. This one will be fun to spin - look how curly the individual fibers are! This sheep was a curly dude. This is not as soft as most bfl, though it's still pretty nice. I'm not sure what it was crossed with. First is the fleece picture from last year. I really thought it would be gray, but I guess there's a lot more brown than I remember. Doesn't take much to make a difference.

Then some North Country Cheviot. Maybe you remember my dyeing experience with this stuff. I had a bunch of fleece in a big pot. In one third of the pot I poured in some dark green, another third some gold, another third some rust. The locks dyed in halves - so one half would be green, the other half rust. Or gold and green. Every combination. The dye didn't stay where it was supposed to at all. I had no idea what it was going to turn into, but this is the result:

I messed around with the colors before posting because the picture had it very green and it's more on the brown side. Yes, I know what this looks like, but when it's spun up it's a nice heathery, earthy color. I keep telling myself it will be okay.

THEN. My Favorite. This was a little shetland fleece I bought clandestinely out of someone's trunk for $5 last year. The poor thing was crusted in scurf and had sunburnt ends and I thought it was hopeless. After soaking it in a strong vinegar and Dawn solution, the scurf melted away and I had a nice little pile of fiber (1 lb, 10 oz). Not as soft as a shetland should be, but usable. I came across some kid mohair (7.5 oz) that was like white satin soaked in tea and blended them on a drum carder. I hate drum carding, so decided to send it out. In the mean time, I also collected some almost black baby alpaca (7 oz). Then some chocolate brown suri (6 oz). And finally some fawn colored baby alpaca (6.5 oz). This stuff is enough to make me weep - sort of a Pygmalion of the fiber world.

Enough chatting - time to spin!

Great projects I love

I just finished these socks:

These are Charade socks knit with Socks That Rock lightweight in Nodding Violets. I loved making them, I love them.

I also loved spinning this:

It's Delphinium, from The Silkworker. One word? Yum.

And now I'm working on this:

It's Gust from Knitspot, knit with merino/silk laceweight from The Plucky Knitter. Easy pattern, lovely yarn.

I'm also working on some more socks that I didn't get a decent picture of. Next time!

Meet Ms Poultry

Ms Poultry went to live with one of my friends yesterday. She was mostly fun to make, though there were a few tense moments when it was debatable if she would get eyeballs. Also, if you're going to fill a belly with beans it will keep expanding. I should have felted it firmer, but I'm not sure if that would have stopped the waistline creep.